A disgruntled parent has hit out at Orbit Housing Association after her two-year-old disabled son's buggy was 'scrapped' by workers in her building.

For little Tyler Wright and mother Leanna Wright, 24, his specially adapted NHS buggy gave the opportunity for Tyler - who suffers from clubbed feet, global development delay and hyper mobility, to see the outside world.

But now, after the buggy went missing from the family's block of flats in Heatherhayes, Ipswich, the independence and opportunities it brought have all but disappeared.

Miss Wright said she had left the buggy downstairs for a matter of minutes while taking her shopping upstairs and getting her children settled, before going to return for it.

But a spokesman for Orbit said she had received several warnings about leaving the buggy in communal areas due to fire safety, and admitted the buggy had been disposed of.

"We were effectively locked in," Miss Wright said. "I don't drive and was unable to get my children to any doctor's or hospital appointments.

"I couldn't believe it when I spoke to one of the workers and they said they were scrapping it."

In order to attend appointments, she has had to buy a new buggy.

She added: "Luckily I now have a replacement buggy for him that I bought with my own money but it isn't adapted to his needs, it isn't big enough for him for a start.

"What really bothers me is that the buggy was owned by the NHS - it wasn't even mine. I'm incredibly annoyed about it all."

Miss Wright claimed she has been told by the housing association that she should leave the buggy outside in future, although raised concerns about the safety of leaving it outdoors.

Greg Birch, head of property management implementation at Orbit, said: "We've been working closely with fire experts to improve customer safety in our buildings and they recommended that we keep corridors completely clear in case emergency services need quick access. We've also been supporting our customers with the change to help educate them about the importance of fire safety.

"In this particular case, we requested that the buggy be removed on several occasions and when this didn't happen, we were left no choice but to remove it for the overall safety of everyone living in the building."